The semi-autobiographical show revolves around a fictional version of Holmes, a comedian who pursues a career in stand-up comedy after his wife cheats on him, leaving him homeless.

[5] In 2015, Pete Holmes finished writing a pilot episode for a new comedy series partly based on his experiences as an emerging stand-up comic.

[8] A former stand-up comic for seven years, Apatow was inspired to return to it after hearing Amy Schumer tell stories while touring and by Holmes's enthusiasm toward the profession.

[7] Gravitt commented: "I think for a comedy to define itself now it must have a clear point of view tonally as it relates to the story [its creator] want to tell.

[10] Filming for the pilot began in November 2015[7] and featured comedian and actor Artie Lange playing a scripted version of himself.

[15] The pilot was a success, and HBO ordered a pickup to the first season in January 2016, initially for an undisclosed number of episodes and without a premiere airdate.

Apatow went to note Pete "naturally falls into an emotional and funny comedic rhythm with whoever the person is whose couch he's sleeping on".

[20] Holmes' argument with a stripper was based on criticism he received regarding his dislike for strip clubs, which led to that idea being written into the script.

[22] To prepare himself, Holmes attended real open-mic nights at comedy venues to observe younger comedians at work.

[23] For the scenes filmed at the various comedy venues, Apatow made Holmes perform material from his early stand-up career "four or five times" to the crowd of extras so they would get used to hearing it, thus giving off the impression that Pete is bombing on stage.

[27] On June 19, he issued another tweet revealing the second episode had been shot,[28] and noted filming for the first season was due to finish a week later.

[30] On March 15, 2017, after four episodes had aired, Gravitt gave the green-light to a second season, citing the show's positive critical response.

[21] One aspect that Holmes wished to bring into the second season was the idea of success, as to him, people enjoyed the show when Pete is "floundering and when something goes right".

Pete meets a new friend, Ali Reissen (portrayed by Jamie Lee), a romantic interest whose comedic advice to Holmes is based on a combination of people who gave Holmes advice in real life, including Gaffigan, Demetri Martin and Bill Burr, who introduces Pete to alternative comedy.

[23] Holmes credits Apatow in bringing back Lapkus, Basil, and Attell for season two due to their favourable reception from viewers.

"[36] On March 23, Lange claimed during an interview that he was fired from the show in the wake of the incident, but in a tweet Apatow maintained this was not the case.

The site's critical consensus reads, "The refreshingly goofy Crashing embraces a measured positivity and an overall sweetness that sets it apart from its more sardonic contemporaries.

"[66] On Metacritic, the first season holds an approval rating of 73 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

But Crashing makes a solid case for itself anyway by leaning into two distinctive features that set it apart", namely Holmes' charm and that the show "is really good at telling really bad jokes," which stops it from becoming "stale.